Sam and Tom Gores (Getty Images)

Sam Gores’ brother Tom Gores and his investment company Crescent Drive Media has taken an ownership stake in Paradigm, the agency’s CEO Sam Gores announced in a letter to employees Thursday, obtained by TheWrap.

The move is a financial step to aid Paradigm in weathering the coronavirus crisis but also to “invest in future growth,” Gores’ letter reads. The Gores have also retained Bruce Rosenblum, a former Warner Bros. executive in the studio’s TV group, as an advisor on the agency’s growth.

“I want to thank everyone for their dedication, hard work and continued focus on serving our clients and agency and helping to position our company for a strong future,” Gores said. “With an expanded ownership team, financial stability and creative advisers like Bruce to help us assess new opportunities, I look forward to our next chapter.”

Also Read: Paradigm Revolt: CEO Sam Gores Backs Down After Music Agents Object to 50% Pay Cut

Rosenblum spent 26 years at Warner Bros. including 14 as president of Warner Bros. Television Group. Following that he was president at Legendary Television and Digital Media between June 2013 through May 2016, and he was then president of Business Operations for Disney and ABC for a year between September 2016 and June 2017. Currently, he’s on the board of Cox Media Group and was also the chairman and CEO of the Television Academy between 2012 and 2016.

Paradigm has been hit hard by the coronavirus shutdown, with two-thirds of its revenue coming from music, including the live events and concert tours that have all been postponed or canceled as a result of the virus, including some of the agency’s biggest clients such as Billie Eilish and Kenny Chesney. Because music is a seasonal business with more releases and tours coming in the warmer months of the year, the agency normally borrows money during the winter months and repays the loans with summer tour and release profits.

Back on May 20, Gores denied a report that sports and media mogul Casey Wasserman would buy Paradigm.

“There is no agreement to sell Paradigm, nor is any sale imminent,” Gores wrote in an internal memo to his staff.

But an individual with knowledge of the matter told TheWrap at the time that Wasserman was in talks to buy the agency.

Also Read: Paradigm President Greg Bestick to Retire From Talent Agency

And in March, Gores sparked what insiders described as a ‘f–ing war zone’ within the company when he attempted to stem those losses by cutting music agent salaries by 50% and then reinstated them, as TheWrap exclusively reported at the time. Agents banded together and threatened to leave, while others publicly complained that they felt Gores used Paradigm earnings to fund his lavish personal lifestyle, insiders told TheWrap in April.

“He ended up not cutting people because of negative press on the firings,” an insider told TheWrap at the time. “They effectively held him hostage.”

Gores instead opted for more widely applied pay cuts throughout the company, beginning with his own, which was cut in full.

See Gores’ full announcement letter below.

Dear Colleagues,

In an alliance that further strengthens our business, I am pleased to announce that Crescent Drive Media (CDM), an investment vehicle owned by my brother, Tom Gores, has taken an ownership interest in Paradigm. This is one of several important steps that put us in a financial position not only to weather this crisis, but to invest in future growth.

In that context, I am also pleased to announce that the ownership of Paradigm, which includes Tom and me, has retained Bruce Rosenblum as an adviser on growth and investment opportunities. Bruce is an experienced and capable industry veteran. He spent 26 years at Warner Bros., including 14 years as President of Warner Bros. Television Group where he oversaw the entire Warner Bros. portfolio of television businesses, including worldwide production, traditional and digital distribution globally, and broadcasting.

Subsequent to his time at Warner Bros., Bruce was President of Legendary Television and Digital Media from June 2013 through May 2016, and from September 2016 through June 2017 was President, Business Operations for the Disney / ABC Television Group, with direct oversight of advertising sales, global affiliate sales and marketing, digital media, strategy and business development, media operations, engineering and IT, and consumer insights.

He currently serves on the Board of Cox Media Group, which is owned by Apollo Global Management. Bruce also served as the Chairman and CEO of the Television Academy from January 2012 through December 2016.

I want to thank everyone for their dedication, hard work and continued focus on serving our clients and agency and helping to position our company for a strong future.

With an expanded ownership team, financial stability and creative advisers like Bruce to help us assess new opportunities, I look forward to our next chapter.

Sam

Celebrities Who Have Died From the Coronavirus (Photos)

The world continues to be upended by the coronavirus pandemic, with more people contracting COVID-19 as the days pass. While many have recovered, some have died from complications of the illness. These are the names of some notable figures from Hollywood and the media that we have lost.
Terrence McNally, a four-time Tony Award-winning playwright, died on March 24 at the age of 81 of complications from the coronavirus. His works included "Master Class," "Love! Valour! Compassion!" and "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune," which later became a film with Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino.
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Italian actress Lucia Bosè, who starred in such films as Michelangelo Antonioni’s "Story of a Love Affair" (1950) and Juan Antonio Bardem’s "Death of a Cyclist" (1955), died on March 23 of pneumonia after contracting COVID-19, according to the Guardian. She was 89.
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Chef Floyd Cardoz, winner of "Top Chef Masters" Season 3, died at the age of 59 of coronavirus complications on March 25.
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Mark Blum, who starred in "Desperately Seeking Susan," "Crocodile Dundee" and the Lifetime/Netflix series "You," died on March 26 of coronavirus complications. The veteran character actor and regular on New York City stages was 69.
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Maria Mercader, a CBS News veteran who worked for over 30 years as a reporter and talent director, died March 29 after testing positive for coronavirus. She was 54.
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Grammy-winning country music singer Joe Diffie died March 29 due to complications from the coronavirus. He announced his diagnosis just two days prior.
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American rock musician Alan Merrill, best known for co-writing and recording the original version of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," died March 29 of complications from the coronavirus. He was 69.
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Popular Japanese comedian Ken Shimura, whose career spanned decades, died March 29 due to complications from the coronavirus. He was 70.
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Andrew Jack, a dialect coach who most recently was hired to work with Robert Pattinson on the new Batman movie, died March 31 of complications from coronavirus, TMZ reports. He also appeared in "Star Wars: Episode VII" as a member of Leia's resistance. Jack was 76.
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Adam Schlesinger, Fountains of Wayne singer and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" contribute, died at the age of 52 from coronavirus complications on April 1.
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Ellis Marsalis Jr., New Orleans jazz legend and father of Wynton and Branford Marsalis, died at 85 from COVID-19 complications, Branford said. "Ellis Marsalis was a legend. He was the prototype of what we mean when we talk about New Orleans jazz... He was a teacher, a father, and an icon — and words aren’t sufficient to describe the art, the joy and the wonder he showed the world," New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said also.
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Eddie Large, one-half of the comedy duo Little and Large, died April 2 after contracting coronavirus while hospitalized for heart failure. He was 78.
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Sergio Rossi, the Italian shoe designer, died at age 84 after being hospitalized with the virus, the brand confirmed in an Instagram post Friday.
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Patricia Bosworth, a stage and screen actress turned journalist who penned celebrity biographies, died April 2 from complications of the coronavirus. She was 86.
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Tom Dempsey, New Orleans Saints legendary kicker who was born without toes on his right foot and wore a flat shoe that he kicked with, died on April 4 from complications of COVID-19.
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John Prine, one of the most influential and revered folk and country songwriters of the last 50 years, died on April 6 at the age of 73 after being infected with the COVID-19 virus.
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Allen Garfield, who appeared in such films as “The Conversation,” “Nashville” and “Irreconcilable Differences,” died April 7 due to coronavirus complications, according to his sister. He was 80.
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Charles Gregory, an Emmy-nominated hairstylist who frequently collaborated with Tyler Perry on his films and TV shows, died of complications from COVID-19 on April 8.
Charles Gregory/YouTube
Hilary Heath, an actress and producer who starred opposite Vincent Price in horror movies in the late 1960s and early '70s, died in April of COVID-19 complications. She was 74.
American International Pictures
Rick May, a voice actor best known to gamers as the husky-throated Soldier in Team Fortress 2, died in Swedish nursing home on April 13 after contracting COVID-19. He was 79.
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Allen Daviau, a 5-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer, died April 15 at age 77. He frequently collaborated with Steven Spielberg, and worked on such films as "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" and "The Color Purple"
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Henry Grimes, celebrated jazz bassist, died on April 15 at age 84, according to WGBO. He worked with such legends as Thelonius Monk, Charles Mingus and Sonny Rollins.
"Knight Rider" and "Magnum P.I." producer Joel Rogosin died of coronavirus at the MPTF nursing home. He became the fifth person to die from COVID-19 complications at the facility.
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Rapper Fred the Godson died after contracting coronavirus, a representative confirmed to Complex. He wrote on social media of his diagnosis on April 6, but he did not recover.
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Art director Matteo De Cosmo, who worked on films including "Emergence," "The Punisher" and "Luke Cage," died of coronavirus complications. He was 52.
Victoria Dearing
Roy Horn, best known as half of the legendary Siegfried & Roy magic and animal act in Las Vegas, died on May 8 from complications due to coronavirus.
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Legendary Auburn football coach Pat Dye died on June 1 after combating COVID-19 and other medical conditions. He was 80.
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Chris Trousdale, a member of the boy band Dream Street, died of coronavirus complications on June 2. He was 34.
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Broadway star Nick Cordero passed away on July 5 due to complications from coronavirus. He was 41.

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While many celebrities who contracted COVID-19 have recovered, some have died from complications of the illness

The world continues to be upended by the coronavirus pandemic, with more people contracting COVID-19 as the days pass. While many have recovered, some have died from complications of the illness. These are the names of some notable figures from Hollywood and the media that we have lost.

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